The renovation of Husky Stadium will attract better players, improve the fan experience and not cost the state a cent

By Jon Marmor and Mary Jean Spadafora

Photos and digital imaging by Michael Moore/mrpix.com

It’s loud inside Husky Stadium these days. But the noise is not coming
from the familiar eardrum-rattling scream of 72,000 foot-stomping, crazed Dawg fans.
It’s the clank of construction equipment, the groan of steam shovels, and the grumbling of
dump trucks—all hard at work on the makeover of the beloved cathedral to Husky football.

Ever since it opened in 1920, Husky Stadium has been our second home, a place we can’t
wait to spend our Saturdays with family, friends and food. Who around here can’t conjure
up the images and the feelings that go with them: watching the Huskies run out of the tunnel
and onto the field; the drop-dead gorgeous view of Lake Washington; the white flotilla
of boats bringing fans from the Eastside; the aroma of sausages sizzling on the grill at tailgate
parties surrounding the stadium; slapping high-fives with strangers over that amazing Mario Bailey catch while waiting in line for a hot dog and
a Coke at halftime.

But at the old age of 92, our beloved stadium was showing
signs of age. Crumbling concrete, shin-squeezing narrow
rows of seats, exposed wiring and not enough bathrooms
put Husky Stadium—where we were dazzled and delighted
by Hugh McElhenny, George Fleming, Napoleon Kaufman,
Warren Moon, Steve Emtman, Lawyer Milloy and so many
others—in need of a total rejuvenation.

“It needed to be done,” says Husky supporter and philanthropist
Ron Crockett, ’61, who has been going to Husky
games since 1958.

While the renovation forces the Huskies to relocate to the
home of the Seattle Seahawks, CenturyLink Field, for the
2012 season, the result of the one-year detour will pay off
for decades to come.

The remodeled stadium will provide the Husky football
program with totally modern facilities, and give fans better
sightlines, improved concessions and other amenities. It
will also give the football program a big boost for recruiting
players. Bringing in better players means more wins, and
victories provide for the best fan experience.

“To be competitive nationally, you need to have the best
facilities,” says Jim Lambright, ’65, a former Husky player and coach
for more than three decades. Lambright, who now works for Turner
Construction, one of the firms involved in the renovation, says the
recruiting advantage the new stadium will bring can’t be overstated.
“Look at what is happening at Michigan, Florida State, and Oregon,”
he says. “This renovation will give the football program a
great stadium to sell to recruits, which will really help.”

But all the excitement over the new stadium can’t mask the powerful
emotions that overflowed when the south stands of the stadium
were brought down in November when the renovation began
days after the final game Nov. 5.

“It was really bittersweet,” says Chip Lydum, ’84, who is the athletic
department’s liaison to the construction team working on Husky
Stadium. “This is not just another construction job. I grew up watching
Husky football. My brother and I used to hang on top of the tunnel
and ask players for wristbands. Now, it’s my kids who are doing
that. It was very emotional seeing the stands being torn down.”

Damon Huard, ’95, a former Husky quarterback and current color
analyst for Husky radio broadcasts, welcomes the renovation project.

Attending games as a child, playing on the field and coming back
to work for the athletic program, Huard doesn’t believe the feeling
of being a Husky will go away due to the stadium renovation.

“Most people need to realize that it is being rebuilt but it is going
to look and feel like the Husky Stadium we know and love,” he says.
“You look at it and see the new stadium will have the same sort of
feel and effect. Not some tricked-out NFL stadium.”

Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Rondeau says the renovations were
long overdue. The upgrade, which will be on par with or exceed
other facilities like Oregon and Oregon State, will increase the excitement
in the Huskies—and make them more competitive.

“Rightly or wrongly, kids today are swayed by that kind of thing,”
he says. “Oregon, with its fashion model, if you will, has shown that
you can actually attract talent with something seemingly mundane
as what your uniforms look like.”

If that is the case, “how much more important would it be for
your facilities to look that way?” he asks.

The renovation of the stadium is essential for another, larger
reason. Football brings in the revenue that supports the other 21
sports played at the UW. If football can’t bring in that revenue,
that spells trouble. “The stadium provides most of the operating
funds for the $64 million athletic program,” Crockett explains. “It
is very important to be [financially] self-sustaining, especially these days due to the shortfall in state government support.”

Don Barnard, ’63, who serves on the executive committee of
the Tyee board, thought the fundraising for the program for the
$250 million project, especially in such hard economic times,
was “incredible.”

“[It] was made successful by continuing support of the strongest
Huskies that have been giving money there, over the years,” Barnard
says. “They are so dedicated…it was just so incredible going
out and raising funds from the [stadium].”

Barnard also believes that Husky Stadium builds upon the academic
heart of the UW. More donations are made, he says, to other
departments on campus when the football program is doing well.
Crockett agrees. Business alums meet with past engineering students,
and people from all over the area mingle to build upon one
common factor: Husky football, and Husky Stadium, are a part of
us. And always will be.

“If you think about the UW in general,” he says, “what other department
or program can get 70,000 people together to attend an
event? It’s a focal point for people coming back to the University.”

—Jon Marmor is Managing Editor of Columns, Mary Jean Spadafora
is a Columns intern. Julie Garner also contributed to this story.

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